Audio compact discs, for example, those containing prerecorded music, are typically stored in plastic containers known in the trade as "jewel boxes." Jewel boxes utilize front and rear plastic panels that are hinged together along adjacent edges. Although jewel boxes are an effective storage device for compact discs, they are prone to breakage when sent through the mail and are relatively bulky compared to the discs themselves.
The jewel boxes have additional disadvantages. Manufacturing costs for jewel boxes are relatively high. Jewel boxes are not easy to print on; typically, printed information accompanying the compact disc is enclosed in the box and positioned to show through it. The size of the jewel boxes limits the amount of printed matter that can accompany the compact disc. Small information booklets are either enclosed in them or held within a recess on the back. Removal and re-insertion of such booklets is awkward.
Several prior art patents attempt to overcome the disadvantages of the jewel box. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,491 to Pettey discloses a compact disc folder in the form of a booklet. The front panel of the cover has a pocket for holding a CD. A plurality of pages are attached to the spine of the booklet and adjacent to the CD pocket for displaying printed matter. The device shown by the '491 patent is disadvantageous, however, because it does not allow the user to see the CD, does not generate as much consumer appeal and therefore does not generate as much impulse buying.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,217 to Derraugh et al. discloses a compact disc holder having a tray for housing a CD. A transparent, plastic cover is hingedly connected to the tray to protect and cover the CD. This device is undesirable, however, because it is relatively expensive to manufacture, difficult to assemble, and relatively heavy and bulky to send through the mail.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,390 to Pozzoli discloses a container for housing two or more CDs. The container has two flat bottom surfaces that are arranged side by side, but at different levels from each other. The device taught by Pozzoli is disadvantageous, however, because it is rather complicated and expensive to manufacture, difficult to assemble and relatively heavy and bulky to send through the mail.
Central hubs for frictionally engaging and retaining a compact disc in the container are known. However, the central hubs of the prior art devices are disadvantageous because they do not sufficiently retain the CD in the container; thus, the CD sometimes becomes dislodged due to relatively little movement. Such containers are not suitable for sending CDs through the mail. Prior art hubs are disadvantageous also because they are relatively complicated and expensive to manufacture and sometimes cannot be made from the same mold that is used to make the tray. Other prior art CD containers require another element in addition to the hub to satisfactorily retain the CD in the container.
What is desired therefore is a container for housing a compact disc, which adequately protects the disc before and after purchase, which allows the CD to be viewed by the consumer, which has a central hub that is alone capable of retaining the CD in the container, and which is relatively inexpensive, simple and cost-effective to manufacture and easy to assemble.